Barbra Streisand gushed more than once that Monday’s concert at downtown Miami’s AmericanAirlines Arena, the closing date of her 13-concert “The Music…The Mem’ries…The Magic! Tour,” was to be her last concert.

She never grandstanded the statement or milked it for melancholy. She said it with what sounded like gratitude — a theme she would return to often during the two-plus-hour, 26-song set. This was the longest show of the tour, which was fitting since … Read more »

Her Sunday night show at Toyota Center was an exercise in perfectionism. Tasteful tea sets sat on tables. Flowers were tastefully arranged. A waitress in a black apron refreshed the tea during intermission.

Streisand herself clicked on an electric candle during the introduction to “Papa, Can You Hear Me?” from “Yentl.”

A large teleprompter hung above the audience halfway across the floor. Every … Read more »

The witch-hunt of Hillary Clinton has been underway for several decades. Comparing 17th century notions of witchcraft with rightwing accusations against Clinton, Stacy Schiff rightly notes in her “New York Times” article, “[Witches] appear suspect in advance of their crimes.” Susan Faludi wrote this weekend,

[Clinton] has been deranging conservatives since ‘92, when wounded Republican invincibility merged with wounded male prerogative… she’s cast not just as a political combatant but

My heart is bleeding…my tears are falling…because President Shimon Peres is no longer in this world. He was a father figure not only to his beloved country of Israel, but also to me, because he was what I imagined my father would have been like.

Shimon’s mind was expansive and his heart was compassionate. He was a brilliant statesman, gifted with the ability to listen to others who did not share his views and still … Read more »

When a politician ends almost every sentence with “believe me”… don’t! He’s probably lying.

According to PolitiFact, Donald Trump’s statements are rated “false,” “mostly false,” and “pants on fire” 71 percent of the time. In other words, the majority of the time that Trump speaks, he is not telling the truth.

But do the facts matter to Donald Trump or many in the media who are too entertained to correct his lies? We

The witch-hunt of Hillary Clinton has been underway for several decades. Comparing 17th century notions of witchcraft with rightwing accusations against Clinton, Stacy Schiff rightly notes in her “New York Times” article, “[Witches] appear suspect in advance of their crimes.” Susan Faludi wrote this weekend,

[Clinton] has been deranging conservatives since ‘92, when wounded Republican invincibility merged with wounded male prerogative… she’s cast not just as a political combatant but

My heart is bleeding…my tears are falling…because President Shimon Peres is no longer in this world. He was a father figure not only to his beloved country of Israel, but also to me, because he was what I imagined my father would have been like.

Shimon’s mind was expansive and his heart was compassionate. He was a brilliant statesman, gifted with the ability to listen to others who did not share his views and still … Read more »

When a politician ends almost every sentence with “believe me”… don’t! He’s probably lying.

According to PolitiFact, Donald Trump’s statements are rated “false,” “mostly false,” and “pants on fire” 71 percent of the time. In other words, the majority of the time that Trump speaks, he is not telling the truth.

But do the facts matter to Donald Trump or many in the media who are too entertained to correct his lies? We

While Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg apologized for her remarks on Donald Trump last week, politicians and the media who did backflips to criticize her are rewriting history. Strong, opinionated women, like “The Notorious RBG,” are always criticized. She spoke what many people already feel about the utterly unqualified Donald Trump. Her comments deserve a deeper analysis beyond subjective punditry or sanctimonious Tweets.

I feel a tremendous rush of pride because this is a woman who is more than qualified to be president. Isn’t it interesting how a barrier seems insurmountable — until it comes down? I hope girls across the country are thinking, “That could be me.” And like I said after the first woman got a best director Academy Award, it’s about time!… Read more »

The National Institutes of Health is the envy of the world — but Congress has the opportunity to make it even better. Sex is a biological variable that matters in numerous diseases, including lung cancer, Alzheimer’s and heart disease. Now is the time for us to go the final mile on equitable representation in medical research.

Women’s bodies are different than men’s, which can result in health differences. Yet for too long, women … Read more »

Our Republic is based on a system of checks and balances. To the chagrin of political parties and to the benefit of all, we escape autocracy through our Constitution and its prescribed democratic process.

So why won’t the Republican Senators do their job as enshrined in the Constitution, and fill the seat on the Supreme Court? Six justices in the 20th Century were confirmed in the last year of a president’s

Why is it that today even a woman as impressive as Hillary Clinton is judged not by her merits and extensive resume alone, but held to a pernicious double standard?

Twenty-two years ago, I had the honor of introducing Hillary Clinton at a Humanitarian Award dinner, given by The Elie Wiesel Foundation. I said of her then and it holds true today, “There is no one in this country who would deny the competence, intellect, stamina, warmth … Read more »

First, I fell in love with Pat Conroy’s book, The Prince of Tides, and then I fell in love with him. He was generous and kind, humble and loving…such a joy to work with. I was so honored that he entrusted his beautiful book to me.

Pat’s natural language was poetry…he wrote sentences that are like an incantation. He observed every nuance of human behavior and dug deep down to the truth…presenting it in all its glorious and stubborn complexity.… Read more »

Wouldn’t it be better reading up about how our Government works, than tweeting?

By Michael D. Shear – The New York Times.

WASHINGTON — Thirty years as a union boss in Indiana have given Chuck Jones a thick skin. But even threats to shoot him or burn his house down did not quite prepare him for becoming the target of a verbal takedown by the next president of the United States.

Cures Act Gains Bipartisan Support That Eluded Obama Health Law

By Robert Pear – The New York Times.

Members of the House and Senate celebrated on Thursday after signing the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act at the Capitol. Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — With self-congratulatory zeal and smiles all around, huge bipartisan majorities in Congress have just passed legislation to speed the discovery of cures for killer diseases. At the same time, Republican leaders have been devising a

Many of the people selected by President-elect Donald J. Trump for his cabinet have views that are at odds with those of most Americans. And in some cases, their perspectives also clash with those of most people who identify as Republicans.

By Paul Krugman – The New York Times.
Many people voted for Donald Trump because they believed his promises that he would restore what they imagine were the good old days — the days when America had lots of traditional jobs mining coal and producing manufactured goods. They’re going to be deeply disappointed: The shift away from blue-collar work is mainly about technological change, not globalization, and no amount of tweets and tax breaks will bring those jobs back.

Paul Ryan has long been cast as Congress’s Boy Scout: earnest, honest and brimming with the best intentions, whether you agree with his proposals or not.

Donald Trump is putting an ugly end to that.

Or, rather, Ryan himself is, with his example of utter submission to Trump. Other Republicans are looking to the speaker of the House for guidance on when to confront the president-elect and when to let his craziness … Read more »

President-elect Donald J. Trump is considering formally turning over the operational responsibility for his real estate company to his two adult sons, but he intends to keep a stake in the business and resist calls to divest, according to several people briefed on the discussions.

Under a plan now being considered by the Trump family and … Read more »

WASHINGTON — The Senate approved complex health care legislation on Wednesday that would increase funding for disease research, address weaknesses in the nation’s mental health systems and vastly alter the regulatory system for drugs and medical devices. The vote sealed a final legislative victory for President Obama, who strongly supported the bill against objections from many liberal Democrats and consumer groups.

WASHINGTON — The Senate approved complex health care legislation on Wednesday that would increase funding for disease research, address weaknesses in the nation’s mental health systems and vastly alter the regulatory system for drugs and medical devices. The vote sealed a final legislative victory for President Obama, who strongly supported the bill against objections from many liberal Democrats and consumer groups.

Had Donald Trump spent an entire year scouring the country for someone to weaken clean air and clean water laws and repudiate America’s leadership role in the global battle against climate change, he could not have found a more suitable candidate than Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma attorney general, whom he picked on Wednesday to run the Environmental Protection Agency.

This is an aggressively bad choice, a poke in the eye to a long … Read more »

President-elect Donald Trump traveled, Dec. 1, to Indianapolis to visit the Carrier plant and tout his role in keeping up to 1,000 manufacturing jobs in the United States. Here is his full speech. (The Washington Post)

The Secret Service agents told the Carrier workers to stay put, so Chuck Jones sat in the factory conference room for nearly three hours, waiting for president-elect Donald Trump. He’d grown used to this suspense.

That’s what the GOP senator who’ll be taking control of the environment committee told me several years ago.

By David Corn – MotherJones.com

The recent news on the front page of the New York Times was stark. As thousands of diplomats were gathering in Lima, Peru, to work on an agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions, scientists and climate policy experts were warning

that it now may be impossible to prevent the temperature of the planet’s atmosphere from rising by … Read more »

Larry Kramer does not need me to publicize his beautiful play. It stands on its own. For the last time – I will answer his complaints, which rewrite history.

When I saw the play in 1985 I was very moved and immediately contacted Larry to acquire the rights. After going through several drafts with Larry, I hired another writer to develop a screenplay that was faithful to Larry’s play — but adapting it to make it more cinematic. It was … Read more »

Haahaa…. If my sweet wife and I can ever get out of bed
(somedays it’s noon)… I have long planned to paper our vintage barn’s
outhouse walls, with these excremental egested rag articles that are
void of even a sniff of truth. Of course, she has held me back with
her gift for perfect decor. But I still say my idea is more
authentic,… Haahaa. Right?

Hillary and Bill Clinton have been friends now since I first
met them … Read more »

I asked my wife if I could borrow her Truth Alert to respond to the latest tabloid nonsense, an outrageous story that I oppose her doing “Gypsy.” These scandal sheet guys only print stuff that is the exact opposite of the truth. I’m already lined up to buy the first ticket for that film. Her youthful beauty will perfectly complement her singing and performance. But the point here is that tabloids only traffic in bad news, bad news that they … Read more »

I was just made aware of a ridiculous story in one of those weekly rags. This is just to say that the story is untrue in every respect, just unmitigated, sloppy, and malicious invention. The madness of the constant inaccuracy of these publications is evidenced by the fact that in this recent story the main photo they use of “Jason” is not even Jason!… Read more »

I’ve endured Larry Kramer’s outbursts in the past, not wishing to dignify them with a response. But at a time when we are all pulling together to achieve such giant steps toward gay equality, it is anguishing to me to have my devotion to this cause so distorted. I think my efforts for the gay community and my immersion in securing its constitutional entitlement and other equitable rights is quite evident and a matter of record.

I was happy to hear recently that the Loew’s Kings Theater in Brooklyn, New York will be undergoing renovations for a reopening in 2014 . It was one of those beautiful old movie palaces of the past. I was 13 years old when I first started spending many a wonderful afternoon there, partly because it had double features, air conditioning and great ice cream cones.

I’d like to set the record straight on one point. Some articles have said that … Read more »

To clarify the ridiculous assertions relating to Barbra Streisand’s participation in the new “We Are The World,” the recording of which I attended with her, Barbra hit it on her first take, but then asked Patti Austin, who was producing the vocal session, if she could do a few more to see what else she might come up with. Patti thought the first take was perfect, and she thought the fourth one was more perfect. They stopped at “more perfect.” … Read more »

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Barbra Streisand has come aboard to direct “CATHERINE THE GREAT,” written by Kristina Lauren Anderson, it is announced by Gil Netter who will produce. With Streisand helming and Netter producing, casting is now underway.

The film is about a young, sensual Catherine trapped into an abusive marriage with the heir to the Russian throne. But, when her inept husband proves incapable of … Read more »

WASHINGTON, DC – President Barack Obama named seventeen recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.

President Obama said, “I look forward to presenting these 17 distinguished Americans with our nation’s highest civilian honor. From public servants who … Read more »

Streisand to join long line of storied honorees, including Oprah Winfrey,
Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep and Shonda Rhimes.

LOS ANGELES, CA—October 13, 2015— The Hollywood Reporter announced today that Barbra Streisand will receive the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award at its 2015 annual Women in Entertainment Breakfast. The VIP breakfast will take place December 9th at Milk Studios in Los Angeles.

Donna Karan and Barbra Streisand reflect on friendship, fashion, and the sweater that changed their lives.

Stephen Trupp/Globe Photos/ZumaPress.com

“When I was a teenager, I wanted to be Barbra Streisand,” says Donna Karan, who was a freshman at Hewlett High School on New York’s Long Island when the singer’s Grammy-winning debut, The Barbra Streisand Album, became a smash hit in 1963. “I cut my hair to look like her, and I listened to … Read more »

The circumstance of climate change and the circumstances of California’s drought being clear, the four lawns (of the six on Barbra Streisand’s and James Brolin’s property) that the couple have allowed to desiccate and brown represent the kind of sacrifice everyone has to make. One of the two lawns maintained even with their drastic cutback in water usage continues to be among the most aerial-photographed on the planet. The one by her pool, the smallest of the six, will continue … Read more »

For those of you who didn’t see it the first time around, don’t miss the re-airing of Barbra’s 2014 appearance on ‘The Tonight Show’ – her first late night T.V. appearance in over 50 years! Barbra talks and performs songs from her Grammy-nominated, Platinum-selling album ‘PARTNERS’, including a fun medley with host Jimmy Fallon that helped skyrocket the album to #1. Airs 8/28 on NBC. Check local listings.… Read more »